


Worth the Wait

by chrwrites



Series: Sprint Fics [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Fluff, Four Days of Slow Burn, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, LBSC SFC Secret Santa 2020, LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge, Marinette teaches Luka how to bake, Mutual Pining, What do you mean you don't know what Panettone is, cute baker girl loves punk boy and vice versa, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:46:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28123308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrwrites/pseuds/chrwrites
Summary: Marinette uses teaching Luka how to bake as an excuse to hang out with him more.Written for the LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge Secret Santa
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Sprint Fics [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981153
Comments: 14
Kudos: 65
Collections: LBSCSprintFicChallenge





	Worth the Wait

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nonbinarynino](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinarynino/gifts).



> HAPPY HOLIDAYS SOPHIE!!!  
> I actually planned to mix every prompt you have suggested for this and I had a great idea I was working on but then 5k words in I realized that it needed more development so I decided to take some more time for it and write another Sprint Fic for the Secret Santa. I wrote this kinda quickly and still got carried away after the first three sprints, but I hope it's good ~~(if it's not blame it on the recipe I half followed for it)~~.  
> But hey, you're getting two Secret Santa Fics because I'm an overachiving idiot so I hope at least one will be worth the wait (I'm sorry I couldn't help it xD).  
> I won't make any pun about the title anymore, you'll understand why I chose it while reading this.  
> Hope you like it!!! <3

When Luka asked Marinette to teach him how to bake, he didn’t expect her to make him do something so difficult yet frustrating for a start. He just wanted to do something simple that wouldn’t have made him feel like an idiot for burning a batch of cookies in the oven or said cookies being hard and tasting bad because he forgot some ingredient or added more of the other.

Luka knew how to cook, but when it came to baking somehow he ended up putting himself in danger or hazarding someone’s health. Juleka always picked on him for that, even though he was the one who cooked most of the meals in the house – being the oldest brother be damned – and he wanted to prove that he could do that, too.

Christmas was approaching, and he could use the occasion to do something nice for his family. Asking Marinette for help was the only reasonable choice: her parents ran the best bakery in town, who else could he have asked? It’s not like he wanted to spend more time with her, did he? Right, he definitely didn’t consider that.

Marinette was wearing a cute pink apron decorated with her signature cherry blossom flowers on a pocket when she opened the door for Luka and welcomed him in her house. She handed him a white old apron and smiled at him happily. Her hair was tied in a messy bun, and the blue of her eyes was shining bright. Oh, she was so beautiful when she was relaxed.

After Luka washed his hands, Marinette put him to work, handing him an empty steel bowl where he had to pour the ingredients he was going to measure, “What are we making?”, he asked.

“Panettone”, Marinette said simply, the shift in her voice as she said the word made him feel warm inside, and he turned to look at her, entranced by the sound of her voice. “It’s a traditional Italian sweet bread usually made around Christmas, Papa makes some to sell for the bakery every year but they’re smaller because people don’t buy it that much. This is my favourite recipe and he makes it for me only”, she said proudly.

“Wow, you’re sharing family recipes with me? I’m honoured”, Luka teased, and Marinette responded pointing one finger to his face, the tone in her voice light yet menacing, “You better not share it with anyone”.

“Of course I won’t”, Luka reassured, “Where do we start?”

Marinette immediately instructed him to measure the ingredients before he poured them in the bowl. He melted sugar into water, then added flour and egg yolks as Marinette made him place the bowl in the stand mixer and started it. They left the machine work for a few minutes and Marinette made Luka measure the other ingredients, the tone in her voice was steady and professional as she guided him, and it made Luka wonder how many times she had done this to be so confident in her directions. Or maybe it was because she was at her place and doing something she loved that made her feel like this.

All Luka knew was that this side of her he hadn't seen before made him fall for her more deeply than he already was.

After they were done adding the other ingredients to the mixer, Marinette put away what remained of them and Luka helped clean the counter that had inevitably gotten dirty with flour.

They kept each other company, talking about everything and nothing, and Marinette ended up joking about how Luka was too strong to make something as delicate as a good dough, to which Luka responded feigning outrage.

When the machine was done, Marinette sprinkled a layer of flour on the counter and took the dough out of its bowl, showing Luka how to knead it in order to give it the shape of a ball before making him have a go.

Luka nervously got his hands at work, only for his quick movements to be stopped by Marinette’s soft hands and her quiet melodic giggle, “Try and be more delicate”, she said as she put her hands on his and guided them in the movements, “Like this”.

Luka couldn’t help but stare at her and notice how graceful she looked as she guided his hands, and when he noticed the patient smile on her face, he also noticed how close she actually was to him. She could feel her body pressed next to his, and not only her hands on his. He took a deep breath, only to end up inhaling the sweet scent of almond and vanilla that made him short circuit whenever she was around.

The dough he was supposed to be kneading was completely forgotten as he turned his full attention to her, focusing on the slight frown in concentration on her face and her parted lips. It made him feel breathless, his hands were still moving guided by hers, but he couldn’t feel anything but the warmth surrounding him.

Then she smiled, satisfied, and raised her head to look at him directly in the eyes. The sweet scent of strawberries hit him as soon as Marinette raised her head and Luka, yet again, got lost in studying her beautiful features as he took in the small distance between them.

“Try now”, Marinette’s voice rang, and her hands leaving his made him come back to reality, forcing him to concentrate on the reason he was there in the first place.

He hesitantly shaped the dough following the movements Marinette taught him, and when she said it was done she helped him put it into a new bowl so it could rise.

She covered the dough with a cloth as Luka looked at her, “What’s next?”, he asked.

Marinette giggled, “Now we wait, Lu”, she said, and took off her apron to put it away, motioning him to do the same. He did, but he couldn’t help the confused expression forming on his face, “Wait, we’re done?!”.

His question made Marinette’s face twist into an amused smile, “For now, yes.”

“But… We didn’t do much. Aren’t you supposed to teach me, Marinette?”, he asked.

“I did! We made a perfect first dough, we have to wait for it to rise now”, she said calmly.

“Oh. Okay. And how long do we have to wait?”, he asked. Having to wait for their dough to rise meant that he would be spending more time with her, and he couldn’t really complain about it, could he? He wouldn’t have traded time with Marinette for anything.

“Twelve hours”, Marinette said, biting the smile forming on her lips as she anticipated Luka’s reaction.

“What?!”, was all he managed to say, his mouth dropping open and his eyes wide. He asked her something simple, not something that would take them that long. But the face Marinette made as she put her hands on her mouth to cover her loud laugh made it so worth it.

“Hey, you wanted something to impress your mom and sister, I’m giving you that!”, she protested, “I promise it will be worth the wait”.

With the look she was giving him, Luka would have trusted her into anything, and when she asked if they could hang out for a while, he gladly took the offer.

It didn’t matter if it wasn’t for baking, he loved spending time with Marinette, especially if she grabbed his hand to lead him to her bedroom. 

It was a blissful afternoon, the shy December sun shone on them before it set down, darkening the sky too early. Luka didn’t mind, Marinette was there with him, and she was happy. That was what mattered the most.

She said goodbye to him with a warm hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, and he left her house feeling all giddy and with the promise to come back the next day. 

* * *

The dough had tripled when Luka saw it, and he understood why Marinette used such a big bowl for the dough they had made.

The first ingredients he noticed on the counter were pistachios, candied raspberries and white chocolate chips. Marinette’s smile was as warm as the day before when she welcomed Luka and hugged him, and he lingered to her touch for longer than he would have liked to admit.

She made him zest a lemon and an orange before they mixed all the ingredients together, chatting quietly as the mixer worked. 

“I feel like I’m cheating”, Luka commented as he watched the dough turn yellow and become softer.

It made Marinette giggle, “Come on, we’ll have fun decorating it later! That’s the most interesting part, anyway, now let’s add these”, Marrinette said, handing him the cup full of pistachios and white chocolate chips and keeping the red fruits for her. She popped one happily into her mouth, making Luka look away from her and focus on ingredients mixing in the bowl beside them.

Right before the machine signalled the end of its work, Marinette prepared the counter spreading butter with her hands, and gestured for Luka to do the same. His mouth twisted when he looked at his slippery hands, but Marinette stopped him from walking to the sink to wash them, “You’ll need it if you don’t want to get the dough stuck in your fingers as you work it”, she said and smiled as she placed the dough on the counter and divided it in two.

Luka looked intently at her quick movements and followed them until his dough turned into a ball, and helped her put her dough into a round case.

“Now we bake it, right?”, he asked as he dried his hands on his apron, but Marinette shook her head, “No, now we wait until it rises again”.

Luka’s brows furrowed in confusion, causing Marinette to let out a bubbly laugh, “It’s less than yesterday though, don’t worry”, she reassured, making Luka sigh of relief. Her mouth twisted into a lopsided grin, “It’s only eight hours now”, she concluded, and giggled again at his reaction.

“You didn’t tell me it was going to be this long!”, he protested.

“It’ll be worth the wait”, Marinette reassured, and invited him to stay with her for the rest of the afternoon.

They sat on the couch, freshly baked cookies standing on the table in front of them, and Marinette sat right beside him as she put on a movie.

“You know, I would have been happy with you teaching me how to make cookies”, he said, taking one biscuit from the plate and putting it in his mouth.

Marinette responded with a grin, “I wanted to teach you something special”, she said, and snuggled close to him to place her head on his shoulder. Luka closed his eyes, making himself comfortable and wrapping an arm around her. She started playing with the fingers of his free hand, quietly enjoying the moment. It didn’t take long for Luka to forget about the movie running on the tv screen and focus only on Marinette, how her head fit perfectly under his chin and how sweet her scent of almond and jasmine was.

Oh, how he wished he could call her his, and he quite selfishly admitted to himself that he was happy she had decided to teach him a recipe that took so long to learn because he could leave with the promise of her waiting for him every day when she kissed his cheek as they parted.

* * *

Marinette welcomed him with warm hugs and happy smiles, and Luka held her in his embrace before he took his shoes off and walked to the kitchen.

This time the counter counted only a knife and a butter stick, Luka tilted his head, grinning, “You know, if you wanted to hang out with me all you had to do was ask”.

It made her blush.

“I- I’m only doing this because you asked me to!”, Marinette protested. She walked to set the temperature of the oven, and Luka shook his head fondly. She straightened up and stood behind the doughs that now were uncovered, a little dome standing proud under the rim of the case.

“Now we have to cut a little cross and put the butter in so it doesn’t burn in the oven and it stays soft”, Marinette said, and Luka followed her instructions. She checked the temperature in the oven and set the timer to 50 minutes.

She walked to the living room and Luka followed, he was getting used to spending time with her like this, and he didn’t mind when she leaned towards him and cuddled in his chest, he welcomed her, his arms wrapping around her automatically.

They laid in silence, the only sound between them was some old sit-com and Marinette giggling at some gags. It was natural, and he wished he could spend more days like this without any excuses. Only him and Marinette being confident around him, and him enjoying her warm and sweet presence that never failed to make him happy.

The scent of sugar filled the room, and Luka allowed himself to enjoy the moment, feeling at peace as he held Marinette in his arms and let his fingers dance aimlessly on her arms.

He didn’t have control on the words that tumbled quietly out of his lips, “You know, I could get used to seeing you every day”. They made Marinette’s head jerk up to look at him, blinking through her black lashes, and the surprised expression on her face quickly turned into a shy smile. 

She looked down at his chest, her fingers tapping delicately on it, “I would like that”, she said slowly, biting her bottom lip as soon as the words left her.

Luka could feel his heart pound louder in his chest, and he reached for her chin, gently lifting her head to look at her in the eyes, leaning in to her.

He felt her shiver under his touch, her big blue eyes locked into his before they fluttered close as she leaned into him, he could feel her sweet breath on his lips, the beat of his heart making it hard for him to listen to anything else. She was there, and she understood what he meant, and she wanted to kiss him, and she was about to kiss him too, like he had always dreamt.

But just like in a dream, he had to be woken up by the sound of a bell ringing.

The timer Marinette had set rang right before their lips met, and Marinette scrambled to get up and go back to the kitchen to get their cakes out.

Luka sighed, taking a moment to recompose himself before following her. She gracefully pulled out their creations from the oven and placed them on the counter, then made him help her go downstairs in the laboratory at the back of the bakery. He followed behind her, carefully watching out for her to make sure she wouldn’t trip on the stairs.

She rummaged through a drawer right after they arrived, carefully pulling out two long skewers and sticking them through the bottom of the cakes before placing them upside down in an empty rack. 

“Let me guess”, Luka said, leaning his back on the counter and crossing his arms, “Now we wait?”, he gave her a lopsided grin, and Marinette nodded, “Exactly, are you coming back tomorrow?”, she asked.

“Oh. I thought we’d have to wait for it to cool up not until tomorrow”, he said, making Marinette start rambling about flavours and how they needed to develop before actually eating it. It was a process that took time and patience but the only thing Luka could focus on as he heard her talk so passionately about the subject was the way her eyes sparked, how her lips moved and how happy her voice sounded instead of the actual words she was saying. Oh, there was a new song begging to be written in his heart.

“It’s going to be worth the wait”, Marinette concluded, and Luka pulled a stray lock of hair behind her ear before lowering his hand, “It better be”.

Marinette gave him a kiss on the cheek as usual, only to linger for a moment longer as she wrapped her arms around him.

She felt breathless when she pulled away and watched him leave, her legs feeling like jelly as she started walking up the stairs that lead to her room.

She had only one day left before all of this was over and she hadn’t managed to tell him how she felt yet. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t be hanging out again. They would, and Marinette would have enjoyed it as she always did. It’s just that… cooking with someone is so… intimate. 

Marinette had never imagined her to be cooking with someone and feeling at peace, she’d usually get nervous if someone else was trying to help her in the kitchen because they didn’t do things the way they were supposed to be done, and she preferred cooking alone for this reason. But as usual, Luka made things different, he made them better. It shouldn’t surprise her anymore.

Luka made things easy, there was harmony, there was warmth and happiness. It made Marinette feel comfortable, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

* * *

When Marinette greeted Luka when he walked back into her house the next day, she smelled like almonds and white chocolate, and it made him feel welcome as always.

The two cakes were out of their skewers and waiting for them along with pistachios, dried raspberries, white chocolate and cream.

She instructed him to boil the cream so they could make a ganache, and they spread a thick layer of the blend on the top of the cakes before Marinette sprinkled minced pistachios and the dried raspberries on it. 

“It’s all done now, we just have to wait until the frosting has dried and then we can eat it”, Marinette said.

The sigh of relief Luka let out made her giggle. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad you taught me this and that I got to hang out with you, I just- I was running out of patience because I want to know what it tastes like”, Luka confessed, running a hand through his hair. 

Marinette smiled, and checked for one of the cakes standing on the counter, she gave him a satisfied smile, licking the thin layer that got stuck on her finger before getting a knife to cut two slices of their creation.

She passed him a slice, and brought her piece to her lips, smiling happily as she ate the first panettone of the season, it was tradition for her, and sharing it with him made it even more special.

Luka munched slowly, allowing the sweet flavour of the fluffy cake wash over his mouth.

The sweetness of the white chocolate was balanced perfectly by the raspberry and the pistachio, and the tinge of citrus exalted each flavour.

“This is amazing”, Luka said in delight, making Marinette smile proudly. 

“See? It’s worth the wait”, she said, tilting her head.

Luka nodded in agreement, “I don’t think I’ll be able to make it without you though”.

“Oh, I’m sure you can make it, it takes more patience than skill, and you’re a quick learner, too! You did great for your first try”, she said.

“Only because I have a great teacher”, Luka’s compliment made Marinette’s cheeks turn pink. She looked down, fidgeting with her apron and trying to find something to do to avoid his attention, only to notice that he left half of his slice on the counter. 

She straightened up, pulling the top coat he hadn’t eaten yet between her fingers and looking at him.

“You haven’t had the best part yet”, she said, hesitantly raising her fingers to his lips.

Luka hesitated for a second before allowing her to feed him, and just that gesture sent shivers through his spine.

The bite she so gently offered him was sweeter than the first one, probably sweeter than he would have liked, but having Marinette feeding it to him didn’t make him think whether he liked the flavour or not, he liked the girl in front of him, and when he saw her thumb get closer to the side of his mouth to clean it, Luka couldn’t help but take one step closer and wrap his hand around her wrist so it didn’t move from its place.

Marinette stood there, frozen, her pink lips slightly parted as she tilted her head up to look at him.

His free hand reached for her cheek, and she leaned into his touch, almost as she had been waiting for this, the gesture as natural as breathing. When he finally leaned in and their mouths met, it was like fireworks exploded through his chest, sending electric thrills all over his body.

It was sweet and gentle, and it tasted like it too. It tasted like Marinette, and it was love and care and passion and enthusiasm, Luka felt all of it.

She let out a content sigh as she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, letting her fingers tangle in his short hair. He pulled her close, the kiss slow and dizzying leaving them gasping for air. Luka kissed her smile ligthtly before reluctantly parting from Marinette, and pressed his forehead on hers, not ready to put some more distance between them yet. 

A giddy smile appeared on his face, his eyes still half lidded as his calloused thumb graced over Marinette’s lower lip, “Definitely worth the wait”, he whispered.


End file.
